Needs Analysis

Needs analysisDEFINITION Need: the gap between what is and what should be Needs analysis involves compiling information both on the individual or groups of individuals who are to learn a language and on the use which they are expected to make of it when they have learned it (Richterich, 1983: 2). Needs analysis (also known as needs assessment) has a vital role in the process of designing and carrying out any language course, whether it be English for Specific Purposes (ESP) or other general English courses. Formal needs analysis is relatively new to the field of language teaching. However, informal needs analyses have been conducted by teachers in order to assess what language points their students needed to master.

Target Situation AnalysisIn the earlier periods, needs analysis was mainly concerned with linguistic and register analysis; needs were seen as discrete language items of grammar and vocabulary. It later moved towards placing the learners purposes in the central position. Consequently, the notion of target needs became paramount, and research proved that functions and situations were also fundamental.The term Target Situation Analysis (TSA) was, in fact, first used by Chambers in his 1980 article in which he tried to clarify the confusion of terminology. Present Situation AnalysisPresent situation analysis (PSA) may be considered as a complement to TSA. If TSA tries to establish what the learners are expected to be like at the end of the language course, PSA attempts to identify what they are like at the beginning of it. A PSA estimates strengths and weaknesses in language, skills, and learning experiences. If the destination point to which the students need to get is to be established, first the starting point has to be defined, and this is provided by means of PSA. The PSA can be carried out by means of established placement tests. However, the background information, e.g.: years of learning English, level of education, etc. about learners can provide enough information about their present abilities which can thus be predicted to some extent. Needs analysis may be seen as a combination of TSA and PSA. Strategy analysis has to do with the strategies that learners employ in order to learn another language. This tries to establish how the learners wish to learn rather than what they need to learn. Learners should be taught skills enabling them to reach the target. Motivation and the fact that learners learn in different ways should be considered. Means analysis tries to investigate those considerations regarding matters of logistics and pedagogy that lead to debate about practicalities and constraints in implementing needs-based language courses, providing info about the environment in which the course will be run. Register analysis focuses on vocabulary and grammar (the elements of sentence). The main motive behind register analysis was the pedagogic one of making the ESP course more relevant to learners needs. The assumption behind register analysis was that, while the grammar of scientific and technical writing does not differ from that of general English, certain grammatical and lexical forms are used much more frequently.Discourse analysis focuses on the text and the levels above the sentence- rather than on the sentence itself, and on the writers purpose rather than on form. This approach tended to concentrate on how sentences are used in the performance of acts of communication and to generate materials based on functions. One of the shortcomings of the discourse analysis is that its treatment remains fragmentary.Genre analysis refers to the regularities of structures that distinguish one type of text from another. The term genre may be considered as the study of linguistic behavior in institutionalized academic or professional setting, distinguishing four, though systematically related, areas: Knowledge of the Code, Acquisition of Genre Knowledge, Sensitivity to Cognitive Structures.CONCLUSION :1. Environmental situation - information about the situation in which the course will be run (means analysis); 2. Personal information about learners - factors which may affect the way they learn (wants, means, subjective needs); 3. Language information about learners - what their current skills and language use are (present situation analysis); 4. Learner's lacks (the gap between the present situation and professional information about learners); 5. Learner's needs from course - what is wanted from the course (short-term needs); 6. Language learning needs - effective ways of learning the skills and language determined by lacks;7. Professional information about learners - the tasks and activities English learners are/will be using English for (Target Situation Analysis and objective needs);8. How to communicate in the target situation knowledge of how language and skills are used in the target situation (register analysis, discourse analysis, genre analysis).

Getting Started1. Needs AnalysisThis might include surveys and/or interviews with professors or supervisors, prospective employers, and students.2. Program DesignThis must include a systematic analysis of the English language skills required for the context. In addition, active on-going input from be obtained from all participants concerning the program.3. Language Skills and Instructional Strategies.authentic language and materials, authentic tasks, collaborative small group work, visual support for teaching, cultural integration, active learning and communicative techniques such as: Total Physical Response, Language Experience, Approach, role playing, and dialog journal.(Shabaan, 2004)

Sample ESP Needs Analysis1. Whats your job/intended profession precisely? 2. How much do you use English? 3. What fields/ topics do you need to talk about? 4. In which of these areas do you most need to improve your English? 5. Are you doing anything to improve your English at the moment? 6. Do you do anything else in English- CNN, subtitled movies, DVD, newspapers? 7. What resources do you have at home/ work? (Dictionary- bilingual/ monolingual, Internet access, TV/ DVD, Press- newspapers or magazines) 8. Whats the next thing you have to do in English?9. Any conferences/ meetings/ trips/ presentations coming up? 10. How far do you want to go with your English (listening, speaking, reading, writing)?

LEARNING-CENTERED APPROACH LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACHLEARNING-CENTERED APPROACH

It is based on the principle that learning is totally determined by the learner even though Teachers can influence what is taught The learner is one factor to consider in the learning process, but not the only one. It is seen as a process in which the learner use what knowledge or skills they have to make sense of the flow of new information. It is an internal process, which is crucially dependent upon the knowledge the learner already have and their ability an motivation to use it. It is a process of negotiation between individuals and the society. Society sets the target and the individuals must do their best to get as close to that target as is possible.

A learning-centred approach says: we must look beyond the competence that enables students to perform, because what we really want to discover is not the competence itself, but how student acquires that competence.

If we took a learning-centered approach, we would need to ask further questions and consider other factors, before determining the content and methodology of the course

If we took a learning-centered approach, we would need to ask further questions and consider other factors, before determining the content and methodology of the course

CONCLUSION

A learning-centered syllabus requires that you shift from what you, the instructor, are going to cover in your course to a concern for what information and tools you can provide for your students to promote learning and intellectual development" (Diamond, p. xi).

Type of information gathered by NEED ANALYSISTARGET SITUATION ANALYSIS1. Need 2. Lack 3. WantPRESENT SITUATION ANALYSIS:1. Identity2. Motivation 3. Level